Introverted Date Night

...on the cheap!

Husband and I are going through a lot of life changes right now, and mostly because of my recent job switch. Bluntly put, we are the newlyweds without two pennies to rub together. =P That phrase always seems so sweet to me when other people say it. It's like, awww! They're just starting out! (always hearing this from couples reminiscing, who are celebrating 20+ years together) and it IS sweet, I guess. We're learning right from the beginning to trust God in ALL things, especially how we're gonna pay our bills! =) I praise the Lord for this, though, because HE is the provider, and He is so faithful to bless even our small efforts to be good stewards of the (little) we have.

So, in an effort to save some $$ (but still get a date night out of the house), we decided to pull out an old faithful: Coffee Date at the airport. Now when I say airport, I actually mean a small parking lot at the opposite end of the runway where we can watch the planes take off and land. Husband is a bit of an airplane-and-all-things-related-to-flying enthusiast, and I just enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. Usually we patronize a local coffee shop we discovered a couple of years ago, grab a fancy java concoction from the barista and head to the plane place, but this time, I wanted to be a little more frugal (and let's face it, a little more awesome for coming up with this whole plan).

I decided to create a coffee date picnic basket. The only thing I needed was a thermos! Everything else I already had at home, so I went on the search for the perfect two-person thermos.
In June.
In the south.
So smart, B! I found myself staring at the only larger-than-personal-sized thermos that Target could boast and it was $30. I swear I stood there holding it and looking at it for 5 or so minutes, wondering if I could justify paying $30 for a thermos I didn't really like, just so I could be thrifty in the future. It seemed to be a little opposite of saving money. So I stood there, desperately trying to find another thermos and my eyes fell on this little beauty shoved to the back of the shelf.

BPA free, double wall insulated, water tight lid, neutral color and with a handle! The best part, as if all that weren't perfect enough, was that it was 32oz for $14. Yay! I'm a BIG fan of a multi-tasker, too, and I knew that I'd use it with that cute straw when I'm practicing and doing voice lessons. Hydration is key.
Anyway! Then I thought to myself, with this bad boy, we can load it up with HOT water from home and bring our own tea bags, hot cocoa mix, or instant coffee! Because part of the fun of Coffee Date is that you don't have to get the same coffee... so guess what was on sale?

Buy 3 get 1 free. =D

So I came home, dug out the basket that my mom gave us (full of our reception food at the time, to take to the hotel, best mom ever!) and threw in a blanket, two mugs, the coffees, sugar and milk (which it turned out we didn't need, but you can never be too sure! And the teaspoon for the sugar was used as a measuring spoon for coffee, yum!).

 The "Bubba." thermos worked great. Two hours after we boiled the water, it was still hot enough to enjoy the final cup (we each got 2).The company is in Atlanta, GA and has a lifetime guarantee! I found mine at my local Target, but you can check them out here.

 First of all, it was a BEAUTIFUL day and evening. We laid out our blanket next to the fence, poured our coffee and sipped away.  After a lovely sunset, we watched the planes do their thing and bonus! The basket doubled as a little table. We're looking forward to the nice nights of the summer (but mostly the fall weather) to enjoy more of these dates.

Do you have any frugal date night ideas that involve leaving the house? We love a good home-cooked-to-save-$$-dinner-and-movie-we-already-have date night, but I like to save money and still go places! Please share if you have some ideas =)

Til then, GOD BLESS, and I love you all!
Bianca and Husband